Laura Jones-Rivera

is a SGSAH AHRC PhD Researcher in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling.

Her thesis, ‘“The Cathedral and the Stock Market”: Combining Cultural and Institutional Theories Towards SME Publisher Sustainability’ questions how the “cathedral” of publishing studies theory and the “stock market” of institutional theories can combine to identify cultural policy and business sustainability improvements towards consistent, and therefore, diverse cultural output.

She was the publisher and co-founder of the award-winning publishing company 404 Ink with Heather McDaid, which operated from 2016 to 2026.

She is also currently Operations Manager at Charco Press.

Laura has offered book typesetting, ebook creation services and publishing consultancy since 2015, and still does so today.

She previously studied Publishing Studies MLitt at the University of Stirling and English Literature MA at the University of Edinburgh even more previously.

She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband.

Publications

Publisher Not Found
A Decade of Disruption, 404 Ink: 2016 - 2026

Heather McDaid & Laura Jones-Rivera

What really goes on behind the scenes in a small book publishing company? After a decade of running the award-winning publisher 404 Ink, McDaid and Jones-Rivera call time on their venture and invite readers into their little corner of the book world.

From their promises of “publishing loudly” and public financial transparency to the inevitable pit falls and political upheavals, Publisher Not Found reveals the inspirations, tensions and costs necessary to keep a cultural organisation afloat against an unstable economic backdrop where purse strings are ever-tightening. On the eve of their closure, they make the case for meaningful literary culture support for other institutions across the country before it is too late, and essential platforms and voices are lost.

404 Ink’s story comes to an end not with a whimper but with a celebration of their authors and books, exploring what it means to be disruptive and disrupted, for those who seek to find their own place in the industry, shaking up the status quo along the way.

Published April 2026 by 404 Ink, then Saraband.

Awards and accolades

  • WINNER: Lifetime Achievement Award for 404 Ink

    — The Skinny Besties Award, 2025

  • WINNER: Scotland's Publisher of the Year for 404 Ink

    — British Book Awards, 2024 & 2025

  • Named as one of the women who are shaping the future

    — Margaret Atwood in the Sunday Times, 2019

Also…

Publisher of the Year, Saltire Society

2022

Rising Star, The Bookseller

2022

Emerging Publisher of the Year, Saltire Society

2017

Trailblazer Award (shortlist), The Bookseller

2018

Get in Touch

Whether you have a question about my PhD or my typesetting services, drop me a line and I’ll get back to you ASAP.